


Angel Wings

by WolfsHowl5678



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Wings, M/M, Soulmates, Wings as Soulmate Identifiers, wing fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:27:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27427156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfsHowl5678/pseuds/WolfsHowl5678
Summary: Dean never understood his wings. He learned early not to talk about them, that any mention of something ‘weird’ and ‘not human’ usually ended up with a bullet in its back and a move to a new school.Still, the fact that his wings, the ones that were meant to represent his soulmate, glowed as vibrantly as the noonday sun and that they comforted him in his darkest moments, warmth curling around him even on the coldest night, it had to mean something.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 4
Kudos: 197





	Angel Wings

Dean never understood his wings. He learned early not to talk about them, that any mention of something ‘weird’ and ‘not human’ usually ended up with a bullet in its back and a move to a new school.

Still, the fact that his wings, the ones that were meant to represent his soulmate, glowed as vibrantly as the noonday sun and that they comforted him in his darkest moments, warmth curling around him even on the coldest night, it had to mean something.

Sammy could never feel the warmth, could never see the light, and no one else could. They all said his wings were a soft, pale beige, nothing special, nothing strange.    
  
But whenever he looked in the mirror, he saw nothing but vibrant, bright light.

~~   
  


The first time he sees the trickster, something changes. Because he knows tricksters, knows the thing is supposed to appear human at the very least. But something about him is weird, not quite right. Different in a way he can’t explain, the same way that all the monsters they’ve faced are all different.    
  
He thinks it's the fleeting image of thousands of eyes staring at him from the eldritch horror that briefly stands in the place of the janitor, but hey, what does he know?

He forgets about it eventually, pushes it off as a quirk of the trickster, just another fun way of fucking with them.

It’s not until they’re stuck in ‘tv land’ that he remembers, and then it all falls into place.

~~

Castiel is… something. Dean, if pressed, would not at all be able to describe what Cas is, but ‘otherworldly’ would be a good word for it.

‘H.P. Lovecraftian level horror’ would be another one. 

He can’t focus on him for too long, on the thousands of limbs twisting over each other, the trillions of moving pieces that should not be able to move like that but do, the way he seems to pulsate with light and heat no matter what.

Dean would be scared, but the ability to be scared of anything was beaten out of him a long, long time ago, so instead he grits his teeth and hopes he’s meeting Castiel's vessel's eyes when he looks at him.

(He tells himself that’s why he doesn’t feel fear, and not because he feels the same with Cas as he did those dark nights when the bruises were painful and dark and the only light was that which came from his wings.)

~~

When Sam asks about his own wings, normal, non glowing wings which shimmer in the light sometimes but otherwise are completely, utterly  _ normal _ , Dean sits down and explains what his father would never, parrots back half remembered facts from their mom and the little info he’s snuck over the years from books and magazines.

(people always think Sam is the smarter brother, but no one ever thinks about why Dean knows the entire history of soulmates on nearly every continent, why he knows facts and figures and studies and hoards the information like a dragon hoards gold.)

Sam looks up at him, frowns, and says he thinks it’s bullshit. Tells him its stupid to believe just because they ahve wings means that someone out there will love them, that that isn’t how love works, and Dean ruffles his hair and pretends his chest doesn’t feel like its cracking in half.

(Later, when Sam is finally asleep, he stares at his wings, fingers running over the feathers, and shakes his head. ‘Stupid’ he tells himself, covering them and falling asleep. He still wakes up wrapped in their warmth in the morning, however.)

~~

The first time he actually  _ sees _ Castiel’s mortal vessel is when he sees it in the hotel mirror, Cas appearing behind him with a flap of wings and flash of light, as he usually does. 

‘Tax collector’ look his ass. He nearly doesn’t believe it's Cas, nearly pulls a gun and shoots whatever just appeared in his motel room before he feels the heat flowing off him, the light shining brightly. 

He turns to ask him what’s going on, pretending that he feels irritation instead of the soft, warm feeling that settles just above his heart like a blanket.

(Dean has perfected lying to himself, after all.)

~~

He spends most of his life following in his father's footsteps, hoping desperately that will make his father proud. But Sam is his father's favorite, even with all his rebellion and his teen angst, and so Dean takes comfort in willing bodies and open bottles and whatever else he can get his hands on. He pretends he’s okay, cool and suave and straight and obedient, and at night he curls his wings around himself and buries under the blanket of feathers and he cries to the one person who is supposed to love him above all else.

(He doesn’t know it, but somewhere, somehow, that person is listening.)

~~

The first time he shows his wings to Castiel it’s an accident, made from heightened emotions and a fight with his brother and the stress of the world hanging over them again, and even with the years they’ve been friends, he doesn’t quite know what to expect when he flairs his wings, ripping his shirt and snapping, all aggression and territorial.

Cas just stares at him, and he huffs, wings dropping, running a hand over his face, and he expects that to be the end of it, except suddenly there’s wings in the room, taking up the whole space, bright and golden and glowing, and he realizes what Cas is saying.

He barely keeps himself from running, every single instinct in him screaming different things, leaving him paralyzed with indecision. 

In the end, it’s his mother's words, barely remembered, that push him to motion. 

“Your wings are an extension of you, and of your soulmate, and it means you will love each other above all else.”   
  
So he falls forward, afraid and desperate and already wondering how he’ll fuck this up too, and Castiel catches him, will always catch him, and for the first time in his entire life, he feels  _ safe _ .


End file.
